Hi Larry, I just want to start off by thanking you for jumping in with me here at Jazz Wire. We are going to get a lot done together, and we are going to have plenty of fun doing it. My personal guarantee to you is that, if you put in a bit of time with us each week, your playing and understanding of this great music is going to be transformed this year. That is a guarantee I m very comfortable making. I really enjoyed listening to the recordings you sent, Larry. I know how big a step that is, sending someone a recording of yourself. For most of us (myself included!) it s a scary, anxiety provoking process. My congrats to you for simply getting it done. The good news is now we can get to work on expanding and improving your playing and knowledge. The next page you ll see here is your Playing Evaluation, which gives you a score on each of our 15 Essentials. To the right of that you ll find some quick notes I took as I listened. Don t worry - you did great! The next 10+ pages is your Jazz Wire Practice Plan. From the 15 Essentials, I noted two Strengths of yours, which I d like for you to really develop over the next six months. In your Practice Plan, you ll see a number of lessons for you to follow to dig deeper into those Strengths. Developing our Strengths gives us confidence, and leads us to finding our own artistic voice. This work will be great for you. In the Practice Plan, you ll also see that I also identified two Areas For Fast Improvement. Here, I ve picked two of the 15 Essentials that you ll be able to make HUGE progress on. Taking a weakness or a blind spot and improving it is the surest way to improve very quickly, and I m excited to see what you ll get done here. Really, you just need some good direction and some practice time. You ll find that the good direction is there in your Practice Plan. You just need to provide the practice time!! Thanks again for joining us, Larry. Enjoy your Playing Evaluation and Practice Plan, and we ll see you inside Jazz Wire. We have a lot of people from around the world waiting to meet you! Cheers, Jeff
Larry A. - August 2018 - Playing Evaluation #1 Playing Your Instrument & The Melodies Score (1-5) Comments Accuracy Playing The Melody (pitch & rhythm) 3/5 The melody of Billies Bounce had some rhythmic inaccuracies (off beats vs. on beats). That affected the feel and flow a bit. There where times the melody has an anticipation (the + of 4) and you would instead play ON the following beat. You would un-syncopate the note occasionally. Intonation 4/5 Quite good. See Tone/Timbre below. Developing a more centered tone is a good direction to head for you, although the overall intonation was fine. Long tones, baby! We ll certainly be talking about those in your Community here at Jazz Wire. Time 4/5 Generally very good metronomic time. The only time it gets off a bit (usually behind the beat) is with syncopations & off beats. In these spots, the rhythm would throw off your time. Again, we ll work on the syncopations. Tone/Timbre 3/5 The main thing to work on here is to develop more of a center to your tone. Get rid of the little wobbles we hear in the tone on occasion. More on this below. Articulation/ Clarity 3/5 Good articulation. I can tell that you ve worked on this. You are well on your way, but can do more with shaping your lines with articulation. More of hitting the high notes, and coming down on the lower notes. Specifically, more coming down on the lower notes in a line. You are hitting the high notes quite well. Volume/Evenness 5/5 This is sounding good. I hear that you are in control and confident as you are playing. Good job. Rhythmic Accuracy Technique On Your Instrument 3/5 The off beats are definitely trickier for you. They tend to get off a bit, or just detach from the time, usually in the direction of getting behind. This will be something we address in your Practice Plan. 3/5 The only thing that I heard was having a solid core to your tone all the time. The technique of playing the horn and having the tone be perfect at all time. No wobble or chipped notes. This is almost always related to airstream (ie. not enough). So, finger technique is good, air technique can improve. Confidence 5/5 In general you play very confidently. It s just the rhythmic issues that take me out of it on occasion. Improvising & Playing Jazz Score (1-5) Comments 8th Note Feel 4/5 Rushing or pushing a bit in Blue Bossa at times. Otherwise, quite good. Harmonic Knowledge & Content Historiacal Language, Vocabulary 4/5 Good. I can tell that you really know the songs and the underlying harmony. This will be a fun place for you to keep pushing and developing. Specifically, work in the direction of adding interesting vocabulary (see below). Pick licks and vocabulary with interesting Harmonic content - altered notes, tensions, etc. 3/5 This would be a great place to put more energy, learning classic vocabulary (famous licks and turns of phrase). As I mentioned above, some can be very simple (and classic), some can be pushing into new harmonic territory. Melodic Content 3/5 In general, a very nice melodic sense. More Historical Knowledge (above) will definitely help develop your melodic sense. Having more great melodies in your head will ensure that what you come up with on your own will be of a higher quality too. Solo Development, Motivic Playing Having Your Own Sound 4/5 I heard nice solo development on both tunes. I love that you are listening to yourself and developing your ideas. This made you fun to listen to. You kept my attention as an audience memeber. Keep working in this direction - really practice this and make it a HUGE strength. 3/5 I am hearing the beginnings of your sound, which is fantastic. You are playing at a good high level!this will be something that develops naturally over time, but I d like you to be thinking about your sound. Put some energy into what you want to sound like five years from now. Your Strength Index Score 7.3 1
Practice Plan #1 for Larry A. August 1, 2018 Welcome to your Practice Plan & Playing Evaluation, based on the two recordings you sent us, Larry. I enjoyed listening to them, and heard plenty of great stuff there. I truly appreciate your jumping in with us at Jazz Wire, and I love your desire to know yourself and your playing better, and to take your music to another level. Your Strength Index number from your Playing Evaluation is an excellent place to start your work here at Jazz Wire. It has helped me in creating a great Practice Plan for you - a focus for the next six months of your time playing music, and our time together here at Jazz Wire. A word about the scores on the Playing Evaluation - please don t stress if you got a score of 3/5 on something. That isn t like getting 60% on the exam! If someone got all 5/5 s on their evaluation, they would be a pro player, and Jazz Wire wouldn t be the best place for them. Someone who scores 3/5 on one of the Essentials is SOLID on that element, and is ready to now dig in and do some truly great work on it. So, you are in a fantastic place, and should be very happy with the work you ve done to get you to this place. As a reminder - you ll be sending in a second recording of these two songs again in six months, on February 1, 2019. At that time, you ll receive your second Practice Plan & Playing Evaluation, based on your playing at that time (which I can imagine will be a good amount better than you are today!). Add that to your calendar, and don t worry. I ll remind you too. Your Strength Index Congratulations Larry! Your playing is at a 7.3 on the Jazz Wire Strength Index. After 15+ years of evaluating adult amateur and semi-pro musicians, I see you right at the Advanced Intermediate level. After working in classes and summer camps with thousands of adult players over the years, you would be in one of my top groups, playing with the best of the best in our programs. Folks with many 1
years of experience, who have definitely been out there gigging and playing high level music. Our Strength Index is on a scale of 1-10 10 = Good Professional Player 9 = Semi-Professional Player 8 = Advance Adult Amateur Player 7 = Advanced Intermediate Player 6 = High Intermediate Player 5 = Intermediate Player 4 = Advanced Novice Player 3 = Novice Player 0-2 = Not at Jazz Wire Your Jazz Wire Community I love connecting everyone here at Jazz Wire. Frankly, that s what Jazz Wire is all about. Getting like minded, serious musicians together in the same place, so that some magic can happen. That is where the fun is, and where the sparks can start to fly. I ve placed you in the RED Community. This is where you ll find folks who are at or near your playing and experience level. These are folks who are working on what you are working on, playing similar kinds of tunes, and addressing similar concerns in their practice. These are your people, and you should definitely know these folks! Drop in to say hi HERE. Although you ll love hanging out with musicians at your level, I highly encourage meeting as many people as you can at Jazz Wire. We ve got great players from every corner of the globe (every one a serious musician) in all three Jazz Wire Communities, playing a variety of instruments. Feel free to look around. You can answer other member s question s yourself, offer advice, or be a mentor. See what folks are talking about, which amazing concert they just heard, which album they just discovered, or which cool new bit of equipment they are excited about. There is a lot going on in the Jazz Wire Communities, and I want you involved and include in the fun. (see below to learn more about the three Jazz Wire Communities) 2
What To Do With Your Practice Plan & Playing Evaluation #1 - PRINT OUT your Practice Plan & Playing Evaluation. Put it on your music stand. You now have an incredible PLAN!! Your evaluation sets your starting point today, and the advice and direction you receive from me (and hundreds of others here are Jazz Wire) helps you to set your goals, move you forward, and gauge your progress. #2 - Go back and listen to the two recordings that you sent in, with your Playing Evaluation in your hand. Listen, and see if you can hear what I heard. Go through each of the 15 Essentials. Can you hear the time issues, or the articulation work to be done, or the motivic playing you did (or didn t do)? Listen through a couple times and key in on those observations that I sent you here. #3 - Below you ll see your Strengths and Areas for Fast Improvement. This is a fantastic place to begin reorganizing your practice routine and incorporating your Jazz Wire Practice Plan. You ll find very personal and specific advice and tips, as well as links to videos (and pdfs) that will be perfect for where you are at right now. #4 - Each week, in all three Communities, I will be doing a video lesson, based on a particular song, style or concept. This is some fantastic new information and direction for you, every week. The ideal scenario is to apply the advice I gave you in your Practice Plan & Playing Evaluation to these weekly lessons. Powerful! #5 - I will be answering questions and offering advice in all three Communities throughout the week, commenting on ideas and concerns, and taking questions which I (and other Jazz Wire teachers) be answering in the following week s video. If you ask a question, it ll be answered! Send in your requests for topics to cover, questions about your practice routine, next steps, or anything else. #6 - Be interacting in your Jazz Wire Community. Everyone is here because, like you, they are SERIOUS. This isn t a broad and basic Facebook group, or a typical chat room about guitar strings or saxophone reeds. These are serious students and fans of jazz from all over the world who want to meet you, interact with you, and move ahead with their music. 3
The Rubber Hits The Road.... HERE! Congratulations Larry! Your playing is at a 7.3 on the Jazz Wire Strength Index. Refer to your 15 Essentials to get a take on what we heard, and what my thoughts are across the spectrum of the 15 Essentials for great jazz small group playing. There is a ton of information waiting for you there. Your Strengths Looking at your 15 Essentials, your Confidence and and your good Motivic Playing are great strengths for you. Developing them further would be great, since you have such a strong inclination and skill in these regards. Strength #1 - Confidence -Confidence comes from many places, but musically speaking, I believe that we can get it down to three items. #1 is playing the instrument technically well (having nothing to do with jazz). #2 is having enough processor power in our brain left over to think ahead, and improvise in a somewhat relaxed manner, and #3 is having a professional sounding presentation. Making the audience feel that they are in good hands with us! ASSIGNMENT #1 - As for playing the instrument well, I want you to always have some non-jazz exercises and etudes in your daily practice. Things that get you playing accurately and precisely, thinking about your tone, time, articulation and other foundational elements of playing your instrument. This could include scales, patterns (ie. scales in thirds, etc), written etudes, or just about anything that isn t improvised. It almost doesn t matter exactly what it is. Just be sure to have some non-jazz, non-improvising material in your daily practice. Even 20 minutes in a practice session would be great, and it will get you some wonderful results. I will be talking every week in your Jazz Wire Community about good ideas for this, so be sure to join us in those conversations. I ll have plenty of good ideas for you. ASSIGNMENT #2 - Here, I want you working on developing your processor power, and developing your presentation. With the goal of further expanding your Confidence, the three videos below would be fantastic for you to dive into deeply. In other words, have the topics of each of these videos as a REGULAR part of your daily practice. The great news is that you ll be able to use these practice ideas regularly in the weekly sessions we do in your Community here at Jazz Wire. These concepts will help you dig deeper into your weekly 4
assignments, and get much more out of them. See which of these three resonates with you most, and begin there. You can come back to the other two ideas in a few weeks or a few months. There is no rush. Take your time and dig deeply into these ideas. Video #1 - Unaccompanied Playing - https://youtu.be/udpnvevi2_s. Video #2 - Develop Your Solos - https://youtu.be/dgqhkdjcr7s Video #3 - Sound Like A Pro - https://youtu.be/qk8jrnegcq8 Strength #2 - Motivic Playing -The ability to develop the content in our solos is a major hallmark of a great jazz musician. Early on in our development as a jazz player, we are happy with just finding some correct notes in each measure... that is a fantastic feeling! Then, as more time went by, we were thrilled when we could actually play mostly correct notes through an entire solo... victory! This was a great arrival in our playing, and not a small thing. It could be argued, however, that we aren t really making true jazz yet, we are just hitting some correct buttons on our instrument. Learning to develop the ideas that we are playing is what jazz (and most forms of music) is really all about. I heard definite hints of this in your playing, which is very exciting. Spending practice time each day on developing your ability to find motifs (little musical ideas) and develop them will go a long way with you. This is what our jazz heroes were so excellent at doing - playing some small idea, and then taking us on a journey as they developed that idea through their solo. Together, we are going to get you doing this at a higher level, guaranteed. ASSIGNMENT #1 - Below is a video lesson that will give you a powerful practice idea on this topic. Motivic playing is a habit as much as anything... just do it a bit every day. Here, you ll learn how to get in the habit of listening to yourself, and then really valuing your musical ideas. This exercise is one of the most important things that I ve done over the past 25 years to develop my ability to play and think this way, and it s worked for many students of mine over those years. Have fun with it - you ll use this exercise for the rest of your life! Video #1 - Commando Jazz Skills - https://youtu.be/l_wwsdhfgii ASSIGNMENT #2 - Here, I want to give you two very tangible tools, a couple precise next steps to move ahead in your motivic playing. Below, you ll find two videos, each with specific devices to help build your motivic playing ability. These 5
videos address classic devices you ll hear in famous jazz solos, in your favorite jazz compositions, and of course, in hundreds of years of classical music as well. The bonus is that you ll be able to use these devices constantly in your work in your community here at Jazz Wire. This will transform your playing and your understanding of music, guaranteed. Video #2 - Motivic Playing - https://youtu.be/aaqrih2jv1q Video #3-2X You Jazz Chops - https://youtu.be/i6zznmmru9m Your Areas For Fast Improvement Looking at your 15 Elements, Accuracy Playing The Melody (pitches & rhythms) and Historical Language, Vocabulary are places you could get a lot of work done in a short amount of time. This is where I am convinced that things could move quickly for you, and where you could find yourself playing better (and likely have a higher Strength Index number) in six months time! Area For Fast Improvement #1 - Accuracy Playing The Melody. The ability to accurately play the melody of the songs we are playing for an audience is very important. The melody is the part of the song that the audience may know, the part that they ll be singing along with in their head. And, it is the first thing that they hear from us as we begin to play. Working on this aspect of your playing will really improve your overall presentation. Beyond that, however, is a wonderful side benefit - as we learn melodies better, our sense of style, feel and time get better and better too, in both our melody playing AND in our soloing. Learning written melodies will be a great tool for us going forward. ASSIGNMENT #1 - In your specific community here at Jazz Wire, we ll be working on a couple songs each month together. Really digging into their melody, harmony, form and much more. This will be fantastic, because a year from now, you will have at least 25 songs that your know better than any song you ve ever learned. You will be so much further ahead! For you, I want to prioritize really nailing the melodies that we work on together in your community, playing them perfectly, as if you were playing a classical etude. I am certainly talking about correct pitches and rhythms, but I also want you to think about HOW you are playing the melodies. The video below will give you some very good guidance on what I are talking about here. 6
Video #1 - Scale Practice - How vs. What - https://youtu.be/fxyeb9rdwtu ASSIGNMENT #2 - A great next step is for you to work on further developing your jazz articulation. Articulation is one of the central tools we have to increase our precision, our tightness, and even our swing feel. You ll be able to make a lot of great progress here. Be sure to work on these two videos are entirely separate, individual exercises. They may seem to contradict each other a bit, but don t worry, they don t really. You could choose to work on one of them for a few months, and then go on to the other one, which would be perfectly fine. You could also work on developing them at the same time if you like. As I said above, just be sure to not mix them together in your practice. If you want to practice both today, do one (say Off Beat Articulation ) for 15 minutes, and then do 15 minutes of Articulation from video #3 below. Just don t try to do them during the SAME 15 minutes... it won t work! Video #2 - Off Beat Articulation & Momentum - https://youtu.be/bh1qwgbooii Video #3 - Articulation - How To Swing - https://youtu.be/cf1bqpekzv0 Area For Fast Improvement #2 - Historical Language, Vocablulary. Historical Language, licks, jazz vocabulary, melodic devices, cool jazz stuff we ve heard before... Whatever we decide to call it, jazz is a language, and a language is based on using phrases that we ve all heard before. Think of Charlie Parker, Michael Brecker, Philly Joe Jones, McCoy Tyner or Louis Armstrong. They all had their licks, the melodies and ideas and turns of phrase that they valued, the things that made those players sound like themselves. Those jazz greats weren t really improvising all the time. When they played a lick, some historical language, they were connecting with us by using something we recognized. They were actually NOT improvising in those moments. So, I d like you to improvise a little LESS by using more jazz vocabulary, more historical language. ASSIGNMENT #1 - The long and short of it is that I want you to learn more licks, more jazz vocabulary. That simple. Little turns of phrase that you like, and that will help to in creating your improvisations. Here s the thing - you don t need to go out and by a book of licks. Turn on 15 seconds of a favorite recording, and you will definitely hear something worthy of your attention. Plus, in your Community here at Jazz Wire, we ll be working regularly on vocabulary, our historic language. For now, find a little lick that you used to know, that you have in a book, and work to get it under your fingers. Then, maybe learn it in two or three 7
different keys. Learn where it fits, over which chords and tonalities. We assemble our vocabulary one word, one lick at a time. This is where we begin. ASSIGNMENT #2 - Learning and knowing some licks is great, but the most important part of the equation is that I want you to be USING THEM regularly in your playing. Learning a new word doesn t really help if you don t use it in your daily speaking. This is one of the hardest things to do in our practice, to get a new piece of vocabulary actually worked into our playing. The video below is something I d like for you to include in your regular practice routine. This is one of the most important exercises that I ever learned, and I know it s going to help you internalize whatever the lick is that you are currently working on. Video #1 - The Asterisk Exercise - https://youtu.be/-41-z0m3pwc ASSIGNMENT #3 - Here is a video on what I call The Basis Of Everything. So many of the classic licks and melodies that we hear and love have this as the underlying feature, the DNA inside the lick. Spending some time with this video and pdf will get you set up to learn some new licks, and to better understand the licks that you come across in the future. Further, you will be able to use this idea in our weekly work together here at Jazz Wire in your community. You ll find hundreds of your Jazz Wire peers working on this same material! Video #2 - The Basis Of Everything - https://youtu.be/jrsjvm2ppgg... and now go practice! At this point, you should have more focused, insightful knowledge about your playing than at any other time in your musical life. You and I have looked at the 15 Essentials that make all jazz players successful, and I ve let you know my take on where you are with each of them. Further, you now know what makes me smile when I hear you play (your Strengths), and what, to me, is clearly the best place for you to put some regular practice time (your Areas for Fast Improvement). Most pros and college students are not as musically self aware as you are, right now in this moment. 8
Remember - - Your next recording is coming to me on February 1, 2019. Write down the date, and work towards it! I will be excited to see how far you will progress in the next six months. - Spend some time each week in your spot, the Red Community. These are your people here at Jazz Wire, and they are excited to meet you and work with you. We ll be doing a lot of work together each week in all three Communities, but the Red group is the best place to address your specific concerns, questions and ideas. - Make it a goal to connect with at least two different Jazz Wire members every week. The greatest strength of Jazz Wire is the power of us getting to know each other. The Three Jazz Wire Communities We humans tend to gravitate towards like-minded groups. People who have similar views, people who like similar movies and books, people who value the same ideas that we personally value. Those conversations are often times richer, more comfortable, and more rewarding. We find a lot of spark in these groups. Plus, we all know at some level that a good team can get a lot more done than an individual can. Let s meet your team. Blue Community - This community is filled with people who s Strength Index is 7.5 and above. These folks are working on more advanced jazz tunes, and are digging into expanded thinking on topics like harmony and voicings, rhythmic devices and phrasing, and more modern melodic devices. That said, this group also understands that there is still plenty of work to be done with the building blocks of jazz style, harmony, rhythm, feel and everything else. The full history of jazz is what these folks are working on! At this more advanced level, Band/ Group Dynamics are a huge part of our development, and composition and arranging will eventually become topics of conversation as well. Blue Community level musicians generally play every day (including some gigs and rehearsals), and likely practice daily for at least an hour or two on top of that. Playing and thinking about music is something like their full time job. These folks could sit in at a jam session anywhere on earth, playing a song they know, and do just fine. 9
Red Community - This group is filled with people who s Strength Index is 5 to 7.4. These folks consider themselves serious musicians, and play their instruments most days of the week. They likely take private lessons (or have in the past). They may have attended jazz workshops and camps. A member of this community likely plays music seven or more hours a week. Red Community members been playing jazz for years, and are comfortable soloing on a variety of songs and in the different basic jazz styles (swing, bossa, funk/rock). They continue their work on typical jazz progressions (ie. ii-v-i, rhythm changes, etc) and continue learning and using the typical jazz scales and chords. Their best time spent is likely in accumulating more jazz vocabulary. Musicians in this community likely practice four or five times a week, and generally have some outlets for playing and improvising in a small group setting (ie. classes, jam sessions, community big bands). Green Community - This group is filled with people who s Strength Index is a 3 to a 4.9. These are musicians who might be newer to jazz, and/or possibly newer to their instruments as well (or dusting off their instrument after a long break). These folks can function in a jazz group setting, and they continue to learn more about the roles of their instrument in the band. They are learning more jazz theory, chords, scales, style and feel. Remember - everyone (including John Coltrane and Miles Davis) was at this level, once upon a time! Applying the theory they are learning to the music they are playing is their biggest challenge. These folks practice at least several times a week, and aspire to advance and feel more comfortable as they play. They are eager to get more organized and get more focused in their practice. The 15 Essentials - Scoring & Weighting System After decades of playing and teaching music, and after more than 15 years of focusing my attention on adult amateurs and semi-pros, I ve decided what really matters, and what doesn t. If you look at the Jazz Wire 15 Essentials, you ll definitely see elements of music and jazz that are left out, on purpose. You won t see Sight Reading," or Playing Fast Tempos, or Augmented Scales in All 12 Keys. Over the years, I ve determined what truly matters, what matter 10% of the time, and what is simply busy work. I ve sorted through what is important to a 10
graduate student in university, but is NOT time well spent for you, an adult student and jazz player. Further, I ve weighted the scoring for each of the 15 Essentials, meaning they don t all count the same as each other. Not all elements of music have the same importance to me, so that is reflected in your Strength Index Score of 7.3. For instance, Technique On Your Instrument and Time And Feel are both very important Essentials. However, to me, Time And Feel is three times as important as Technique. So, it counts three times as much in your final score. Developing the 15 Essentials was an important step at Jazz Wire, but the real power comes from weighting the scores in a meaningful way. Here at Jazz Wire, I am not interested in just trying to keep you busy. I want to keep you engaged and excited, talking and discussing, and working on the correct things, in the correct order. I m sure we ve all spent a lot of time on exercises and lessons that just didn t move us ahead fast enough, or didn t make us any better at all. Those days are over. Welcome to Jazz Wire! Cheers, Jeff 11